Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1887-02-06

~ 1tAIEl4E1 LIf1f1E1f.
The tomato i : native q sropseal o,
I s1t-sruficAl America- belonging 20 tn
S0lAHaGeGE or niRhs-zhade family. Tha
Old English writers called tbs tomato
! the loFs-zpFle, and II France and Italy
The same name Il sill 10 use, carrying
out the Old notion that h use Is food
Influenced the passions. Less than
nifty years ago the e0xnafo was almost
unknown beyond the tropics; or, i
cultivated 81 al, was regarded a. q Gu
riosity, and the idea Was prevalent that
i was poisonous and not safe 70 use for
food.
A more recent idea has been ad.
vanced that the free use Of the tomato
has q tendency 70 produce cancer OF
canccroas gr0Wfhs: but this notion
seems 70 have no foundation IN inet,
and the tomato Is generally regarded
as ore q the healthiest vegetables IN
use. Il il used In great variety u
ways, being eaten raw, sfewed, baked
and br0iled, and in soups and sauces
of various kinds. Is well a. beng
picked and preserved. The plant Is
comparatively hardy and easy Of cul-
tivAti0n. being best adapted 10 light,
warm soils and bearing prnlificnlly un.
der lavoFat z circumstances
In addition 70 the uses Of the tomato
above mentioned, Il has become the
most popular Of all vegetables for can
ming, for the reason that Il retains is
natural favor and appearance better
than almost anything else which Is
treated IN this way The business Of
canning tomatoes has increased very
largely during the last few years, and
has become one Of the most Important
industries Of the United States. In
1856 the tomato pack reached total Of
2 y363, 80 cases OF two dozen tins each,
equivalent to the enormous amount Of
IS, T30. 600 cans. This was about .O00, :
600 cases ahead Of the pack Of 1855,
and about the average for the three
years 1e85Sl-s5. The annual require
ments ofsthe United States are $500,
900 cases, or about one can 70 every
inhabitanf-
The banner State In the tomato pack
ing industry IS New Jersey, which in
1855 packed 40, l33 cases. Next on the
list Is Delaware, with 185, 263 cases /;
then New York, with i6l 900, and next
California, with l41 600 cases. The
three States Of Maryland, Virginia
and Pennsylvania packed in the ag-
gregate 59S. COO cases during the same
year
These figures show that there Is but
little idea outside Of particular lines Of
business Of the magnitude or import
ance Of those interests, and also that
the sources Of food supply are becom-
ing constantly more extended and va
ried. The constantly varying appetites
~ rv.a.. Ia~s,or,H = nkanspo -, fhosr tod
and is method Of preparation. The
sturdy stomachs OF our ancestors Of
some hundreds of years ago, which
demanded great joints Of meat and
enormous pastles, washed down with
huge hagons OF wine, are not common
70 this generation. but IN their stead a
greater variety OF food is required in
less quantities.
The enormous increase in the line Of
canned meats and vegetables, and the
constantly increasing discoveries Of
natural and artificial foods, afford a
sufficient refutation Of the doctrines of
the Malthusian school, whose chief
contention was that the increase in the
population OF the world could not be
met by q corresponding increase in the
food supply, and that unless the num-
Der Of consumers should be limited the
ultimate doom Of the race would inev-
itably be starvation. That doctrine is
constantly disproying itself, as the
population Of the world, as whole, is
better and more ahundantly fed now
than ever before, while the area Of food
producing territory, vegetable and an
imal, is ever widening. II has been
shown, for example, that the sea fish
cries are but in their infancy, and that
the supply Of food which the ocean
contains Is far beyond the computa-
tons OF Nautilus and his followers.
Many vegetables, too, which were for
merly considered useless have been
shown by scientific researches to fur
nish valuable additions to the food
supply. and to be capable by cultiva-
ton and improvement Of stin further
increase.
The economy Of nature seems to be
such that new needs and wants are
constantly met with new sources Of
supply. Novel industries are being
constantly put into operation, the re-
suit OF which is to make the conditions
OF human existence more easy and
more agreeable. The discoveries OF
science have assumed practical form,
and not the least important among
them is the manufacture by artificial
means Of what were once considered
purely natural products. This line OF
scientific labor, coni0ined 10 frequent
discoveries Of new foods, and supple
mented by the wonderful skill which
has been attained in preserving food
for future use, should set at rest all
anxiety as 20 the food supply Of the
future, even were the world more
Ia-oa1tr s.ae.rsiafna